WASHINGTON — Intermodal traffic, which was a weakness for rail traffic in most of 2023, remains the strength in the weekly rail traffic statistics so far in 2024. U.S. rail volume for the week ending March 16 was up 6.7% over the same week a year ago, according to statistics from the Association of American […]
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — The Arkansas Midland Railroad will pay a penalty of more than $910,000 as part of a settlement over alleged hazardous waste violations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced. The EPA says the railroad stored more than 750,000 gallons of o-Chlorotoluene, a highly flammable and toxic material, in up to 34 […]
Tucked away in a drawer, I discovered a “Model Railroad Equipment Buyer’s Guide 1965-66” booklet, published by Kalmbach Publishing. It contained a variety of books, tools, and yes, model trains. While the majority of the booklet focused on HO scale trains, page seven was a surprise. It contains several American Flyer train sets and scenic […]
Tips for keeping your model railroad layout clean: A clean layout is fun to run, fun to work on, and fun to look at. Unfortunately, the three D’s – dust, dirt and debris – are in season all year long and can make keeping a layout clean a constant, time-consuming job. Here are a few […]
Jim Hediger, a member of the Model Railroader staff for 43 years, passed away on February 9, 2024. His family generously donated his slide collection to Kalmbach Media. While going through the images, I found several slides featuring Jim’s HO scale Detroit Western RR. The layout was the successor to the 5 x 9-foot NJ&E […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth (both D-Ill.) met with Canadian National Railway CEO Tracy Robinson on Tuesday to discuss the railroad’s involvement in the Chicago Hub Improvement Program, the plan to modernize Chicago Union Station and rail routes leading to the station. U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) also participated in the […]
PRESCOTT, Ontario — The union representing rail traffic controllers and Canadian National Railway have both taken issue with a report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada citing alcohol use by a controller as a factor in a September 2021 collision involving two CN trains — although for very different reasons. The report issued March […]
CHICAGO — Passengers who drifted in to the westbound California Zephyr’s crowded Sightseer Lounge leaving Chicago on Tuesday found themselves in the middle of an Amtrak-sponsored onboard event commemorating the first runs of the original Burlington-Rio Grande-Western Pacific streamliner on March 20, 1949. They were treated to an informative lecture by Thomas Whitt, director and […]
On February 2, 1949, 75 years ago, a train arrived in New York harbor. It was not on the rails serving some dock, but rather small boxcars tucked into the hold of the S.S. Magellan. The ship docked at Weehawken, N.J., amid great fanfare — scores of U.S. Air Force planes saluted in a flyover, […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has issued a letter and launched a website with information urging the shareholders to vote for the railroad’s slate of board nominees in the proxy fight with a group of activist investors, and set May 9 as the date for its annual shareholders meeting that will determine the outcome of that […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern today named Canadian Pacific Kansas City executive John Orr as its chief operating officer in a bid to thwart an activist investor group led by Ancora Holdings. CEO Alan Shaw said Orr is committed to providing customers with a high level of service as part of the railroad’s resiliency-based growth plan. […]
PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak has begun a $122 million project to improve its Harrisburg line between Lancaster, Pa., and Harrisburg, a project that will see some trains replaced by a bus bridge on that 36-mile segment four days a week for more than six months beginning April 8. Those outages, along with schedule adjustments at other […]
